Kirsten Powers: The WH war on Fox News continues

posted at 10:01 am on January 29, 2013 by Ed Morrissey

The White House war on Fox News hasn’t stopped at all, writes liberal Fox contributor Kirsten Powers today in a column published by the network. After getting rebuked by other news agencies for ham-fisted attempts to exclude Fox reporters from coverage of the Obama administration in 2009, the White House seemed to give up on their one-sided war. Not so, says Powers — they’ve just become more subtle at their attempts to delegitimize Fox:

In a recent interview with The New Republic, President Obama was back to his grousing about the one television news outlet in America that won’t fall in line and treat him as emperor. Discussing breaking Washington’s partisan gridlock, the president told TNR,”If a Republican member of Congress is not punished on Fox News…for working with a Democrat on a bill of common interest, then you’ll see more of them doing it.”

Alas, the president loves to whine about the media meanies at Fox News. To him, these are not people trying to do their jobs. No, they are out to get him. What other motive could a journalist have in holding a president accountable? Why oh why do Ed Henry and Chris Wallace insist on asking hard questions? Make them stop!

The president seems more comfortable talking to “real journalists” such as Chris Hughes, who asked the question in the TNR interview that elicited Obama’s reflexive Fox hatred. Hughes is the new owner of TNR and is a former major Obama campaign major campaign donor and organizer who was featured on the cover of Fast Company, with the headline, “The Kid Who Made Obama President.” You can’t make this stuff up.

Well, it’s easy for the President to whine about getting tough questions from reporters when being interviewed by a former campaign volunteer and major donor, isn’t it? And when reporters from other networks are bragging about giving a politician an easy ride, as CBS’ Steve Kroft did on CNN last night, well, it’s a bit difficult to tell who the real news outlets are without a scorecard.

That’s not to say that the Fox News Channel has been a bastion of unbridled objectivity. Of course not, but the same can be said about CNN, especially lately with Piers Morgan. And unlike MSNBC, both Fox and CNN have straight news programs that aren’t overly infected with partisan point-of-view issues. Fox’s White House correspondent Ed Henry has been a well-respected journalist for years, as was Major Garrett before him. And yet, lately, Ed Henry hasn’t been given the opportunity to ask questions on the rare occasions that Obama deigns to allow the press to pose them, even though FNC has the largest audience of all the cable-news networks.

What makes this interesting, of course, is that Powers is a liberal contributor who spends a significant amount of screen time defending Obama and the liberal agenda. Nevertheless, Powers writes that this kind of immature gamesmanship should concern everyone:

Whether you are liberal or conservative, libertarian, moderate or politically agnostic, everyone should be concerned when leaders of our government believe they can intentionally try to delegitimize a news organization they don’t like.

In fact, if you are a liberal – as I am – you should be the most offended, as liberalism is founded on the idea of cherishing dissent and an inviolable right to freedom of expression.

That more liberals aren’t calling out the White House for this outrageous behavior tells you something about the state of liberalism in America today.

It should concern everyone … but obviously, it doesn’t. Too many people are too invested in short-term partisan victory to see the long-term dangers of — to borrow a phrase from the hysteria of yesteryears — an imperial presidency. And while conservatives rush to pat Powers on the back for making this point against her short-term political interests, perhaps we should keep this in mind when the shoe is on the other foot … assuming we can win a national election in the future.

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That more liberals aren’t calling out the White House for this outrageous behavior tells you something about the state of liberalism in America today.

Liberalism in America is no longer classical liberalism. It is outright national fascism cloaked under the guise of democracy. The “liberals” within America are the ones that constantly look to government power to squash resistance.

“The state of Liberalism”?
Are you kidding?
The liberals in you circle, Kristen, are now Democrat Socialists!
The Liberal of my fathers day would now be Conservatives a la John F Kennedy
Which ever liberal you are, YOU are not an Obama Liberal.

If all we do is whine and complain at the unfairness of it all we will be utterly destroyed and will deserve it.

If we just roll over and HOPE things change we will be a failed culture.

It is time to stop just chronicalling the bias (except as something to link to to convince low info voters).

It is time to start organizing. It is time to start buying out and replacing outlets. It is time to boycott and demand stations be dropped from cable. It is time to fight the media and those that financially support them. It is time to organize the third of America that is willing to fight the statists.

If people realize they are just being duped by the media we can destroy their core. This situation can no longer be tolerated or accepted. It doesn’t have to be this way.

Forget stuff like obamaiturism of the day. It is time for a daily organizational thread. It is time to fight.

Just one grip with Miss Powers’ article, Liberalism is not founded on the idea of cherishing dissent and freedom of expression. Liberalism condones, even demands, groupthink, and that cannot be achieved with dissent and freedom of expression. Other than that I admire this lady more and more everyday.

And while conservatives rush to pat Powers on the back for making this point against her short-term political interests, perhaps we should keep this in mind when the shoe is on the other foot … assuming we can win a national election in the future.

Good ol’ steady Eddie. We will not win a national election in the future if conservatives won’t scream loud and long about media bias.

Tell me how we can get the truth about conservatism out there with the media in the democrat’s pocket. In my opinion, you have to force press coverage with sensationalism and passionate opposition to the liberal agenda. Politicians are too busy pandering to do what’s right. That’s why Rand Paul looks to be the best option for the conservative cause.

While i do not agree with much Kirsten Powers believes in.She never less along with people like Pat Caddell are what you would call a old school liberal not a socialist.They for the most part love this country and think this country is a great nation.They are no were near the likes of the socialist on MSNBC or Media Matters.

Liberals are afraid to fight a battle of ideas because they know they’ll lose. When you know that, this is how you try to destroy any opposing opinion. Of course that wouldn’t work if we had a free press in this country.

Like Krauthammer said on Fox last night, they should take the WHs criticism as a compliment. It means they’re doing their job. Britt Hume was also on saying he didn’t understand how anyone could say Hillary was a great SOS. Anyone journalist who is doing their job properly KNOWS she is not a GREAT SOS and knows she has been a failure on multiple levels. Shame on anyone who reports otherwise, because they are lying to promote their party leaders for the next election, not letting the American people know how incompetent they are.

In fact, if you are a liberal – as I am – you should be the most offended, as liberalism is founded on the idea of cherishing dissent and an inviolable right to freedom of expression.

They’re not offended because liberals the left require a vacuum of information in order to survive and thrive, as they are weak competitors in the free marketplace of ideas. It’s why they use causes like the environment, minorities and The Children as shields in their war against liberty. It’s why universities enact speech codes and why Hollywood black balls conservatives. It’s also why the left wing media blatantly ignores stories and opinion that might harm the cause.

So free speech is for them and no one else simply as a matter of survival.

In fact, if you are a liberal – as I am – you should be the most offended, as liberalism is founded on the idea of cherishing dissent and an inviolable right to freedom of expression.

*snicker*

She must have read that line somewhere, so it must be true.

BigWyo on January 29, 2013 at 10:17 AM

It’s all true. Except for the groupthink, political correctness, reeducation camps dressed up as diversity training, campus speech codes. The heart of the “Berkeley Free Speech Movement” is now shouting down speakers you dislike, or hitting them with cream pies. We have the racial shakedown artists of Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, and minority, women, and gay shakedown groups as well.

Liberals don’t want to listen to any challenge of their orthodoxy of big government, higher taxes, oppressed women, minorities, gays, and the poor, America as a bully in the world, corporations as evil. “Cherishing dissent”? KP is delusional.

She’s falling victim to the liberals destruction of language. In America the liberals are Conservative, as in they want the state to control things. This is the way government had always been and American liberals want to conserve that. Conversely, conservative are Liberals, as in we want to conserve the most Liberal document ever, the Constitution. It’s this Liberalism that debate and free speech are cherished. And it is precisely this Liberalism that liberals want to destroy.

In fact, if you are a liberal – as I am – you should be the most offended, as liberalism is founded on the idea of cherishing dissent and an inviolable right to freedom of expression.

What Powers says about liberalism is true — if what you’re talking about is Classical Liberalism, which is what American conservatism is. But it’s just not true about today’s liberalism, which has been taken over by the Left. Powers sometimes seems close to realizing this. Hopefully she’ll connect the dots one day, like John Stossel did.

I do see a difference between ignorning Fox reporters during press conferences and banning Fox reporters from participating in the reporting pool. There is no requirement for a president to answer questions from any specific reporter. My issue is with the other networks and news outlets who let this go by unchallenged. The MSM serve as nothing more than outlets for press releases from this administration, reiterating the talking points of the day.

All Fox can do at this point is to continue the great work they are doing and watch their audience grow by the day until the “MSM” is recognized for the fringe leftist propagandists that they are.

In fact, if you are a liberal – as I am – you should be the most offended, as liberalism is founded on the idea of cherishing dissent and an inviolable right to freedom of expression.

Yeahhh, um we’re going to have to ask you to stop using that explanation. See, that was never really the foundation of “liberalism”, because we just hijacked the word to cover up being progressive socialists. Mmm kay.

Oh, and we’re going to need you to start toting the party line a little more. Okay?

I’m old enough to remember Nixon and Agnew whining about unfair press coverage. Back then the press responded with long articles in which experts described this unfounded paranoia as a sign of a fatal character flaw, and proof of a serious mental illness.

And while conservatives rush to pat Powers on the back for making this point against her short-term political interests, perhaps we should keep this in mind when the shoe is on the other foot … assuming we can win a national election in the future.

There should be some level of punishment and retribution delivered squarely at the MSM, who have for too long conducted themselves as a member of the Fourth Estate. Indeed, after Obama’s reign as Dear Leader, the blowback registered against the MSM really ought to be significant and widespread.

Powers supported the Obama health care reform, and believes it is a moral imperative to supply health care to all Americans.

Powers supports comprehensive immigration reform and providing a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, favors gun control, and supports equal rights for gay people in the form of universal civil unions, leaving marriage strictly as a religious institution.